Our Daily Happiness

If You Have A Crazy Mom and You Know it Clap Your Hands...

Yesterday was pretty epic on the scale of summer adventure. My girlfriend Melissa and I decided to take an all day road trip to Hugo, Oklahoma via Paris, Texas. Why Hugo, you ask? Well, Melissa's father in law is the mayor of a small town in Texas and he was on my porch one afternoon telling us fascinating stories about other small towns. I was telling him about my obsession with Roadside America and the delightful oddities on that website, and he started to tell us a fascinating story about Hugo, Oklahoma.

If you don't like small towns then just stop reading now, but I am about to tell you some cool things about Hugo, Oklahoma (which may or may not have been cut and pasted directly from the Internet due to my own laziness):

"Hugo has been a circus wintering home for over a half-century, calling itself "Circus Town, USA." Two operations still park here when the snows come -- the Carson & Barnes Circus, and the Kelly Miller Circus. If you're in Hugo, you'll see circus wagons and trailers stored in fields or pulled up next to modest homes. The town water tower has a big-top theme, there's a sanctuary for elephants, and the Circus Diner is plastered with vintage circusabilia. Ask a local to point you the right way. There's also a performer-packed Showman's Rest at Mt. Olivet Cemetery"

OK, seriously...you can shut the front door! There is a circus cemetery...a SHOWMAN'S REST?!?!? I was happy enough just knowing this, but then Melissa's father in law also told us about Bull Rider's Reprieve...where Freckles Brown and Lane Frost (whose story is depicted in the movie 8 Seconds) are buried (in this same cemetery in Hugo, OK), the road trip was a must do...ASAP.

There is in fact many an interesting story, all which can be found on (you guessed it) ROADSIDE AMERICA. I am linking you to the Hugo section so you can squeal with delight like I did. HUGO, OK (Circus City)

Now, be forewarned, I may have taken roughly 164 pictures yesterday and I do intend to share many of them on this post. If you don't want to see them, I apologize in advance, but when I get excited, I get a little shutter happy.

Here we go! Buckle your seatbelts and prepare for a story (told through photos and captions) of Melissa and Candi's Roadside America/Geocaching/Circus adventure! First stop...Paris, Texas.

We stopped here to see the Eiffel Tower. What?! You didn't know there was an Eiffel Tower in Texas?!? Well, you must visit Paris then. Not only is there an Eiffel Tower, but it is wearing a cowboy hat. No, I am not joking. Photo evidence is here:

As we were taking photos, a local man drove up to tell us about the town's other attraction (which we already knew about thank you to my friend Roadside America). What is this other attraction, you ask? Well, it is located in the cemetery and it's a graveyard monument. It is supposedly the only monument of Jesus wearing....wait for it...COWBOY BOOTS! No way....we had to see this as well.

here's a closer peek:

Only in Texas, right?

Now onto Circus City where the real fun begins! We arrive in the little town of Hugo, OK and head straight for cemetery. We park the car and I open my bag of tricks so we can take a moment to honor our circus friends the way they would have wanted us too...with circus props (of course)! These kids love their crazy moms, right?

Speaking of the crazy moms:

Here at Showman's Rest you will see some of the coolest tombstones ever. I have pictures of pretty much all of them, but here are my favorites:

Nearby, is the Rodeo area and we took some pics of those as well:

and Freckles as well:

In between all of this fun, we were quite busy geocaching and managed to find seven of those during our trip as well. I don't have pictures (aren't you happy), so you will have to take my word on that.

We had lunch at Angie's Circus City Diner (also on Roadside America). This place is not for the clown-wary as there are clowns EVERYWHERE and a ton of circus memorabilia.

Now since the circus calls Hugo their winter home, you'll see circus wagons on the side of the road. You may even spy an elephant. Seriously, I could go on and on about this little gem of a town. Here are a few photos:

These kids are good sports. They told us that their favorite part was the museum (free admission was well worth the price) where we saw more circus stuff, and a bunch of vintage items that were definitely cool to see in person. Like this vintage beauty chair, which was for perms (some of us may have thought it was an electric chair, but I will not mention names):

As I told you before. I have a ton of pictures. These pretty much tell the story, though. It was a banner day. Loads and loads of fun. I am truly blessed to have friends who are as crazy as me. Normal is so overrated.

On a side note...Happy Birthday to my Mom today...without her, I would be a whole lot less crazy. Like Mother, Like Daughter. :) Cheers, Mom!!!

Change

Still playing in the art journal and trying new things and some new products. I found these awesome templates and also some resistant canvas at the local scrapbook store. I couldn't wait to play with them. We've been so busy that I haven't spent as much time in my journal as I would like to, but it's for good reason. Balance. I keep reminding myself how crucial balance is in all areas of my life.

Here is the latest spread:

and the close-ups:

I am updating this as a layer of paint dries on my next spread and my daughter sings and works in her journal behind me. These are the moments that remind me of how good life can be.

*edit* Couldn't help but to sneak a video of her singing and creating. She cracks me up. (ignore my attempt to crouch out of the video)

Art Singing from Candi Gershon on Vimeo.

 

 

 

The Year of Living and Finding Peace

I can't remember whether or not I mentioned my "Year of Living" on this blog yet. One thing you should know about me is that my memory is not the best. In case I haven't, this year is my year of entertainment and culture and adventure. I am trying to do at least one thing from one of those categories all month. Here is what I've done so far:

January: Harlem Globetrotters game with my son

February: G. Love and Kristy Lee concert

March: Green River Ordinance concert and David Ramirez concert

April: Amos Lee concert, Kristy Lee concert and EdgeFest (where I saw Cake in concert...yeay!!!!)

May: Ingrid Michaelson concert and Homegrown Music Festival

This brings us to June. This month I decided to knock something off the bucket list...ziplining. It was terrifying at first to be up so high, but the actual zipline was so fun. By the fourth zipline, my confidence was up enough to do this:

Zipline from Candi Gershon on Vimeo.

 

It was amazing.

I am also still working in my art journal and making messes and trying new things. I wanted to try a mostly white page, but kept chickening out and adding color. Oh well.

This one is also loaded with texture. I used a ton of modeling paste. Here are some close-ups:

I bought a new template I am dying to try, so I am sure another page will be coming soon. I have just been so tired. It seems like we are running all of the time. I need to seriously find some peace, and that usually occures when I am in my art room playing.

 

Journal and Roadside Fun

We have been quite busy over here (what else is new, right?)...I'm still working happily in my journal, so I will start there. My latest page is a saying I say to my kids ALL OF THE TIME. When anyone is in a bad mood (which always seems to work a domino effect and then everyone is grumpy), I remind them: You are in charge of your happiness right now. You are choosing to be this way. Let's turn it around and choose happiness. Sometimes I just show my tattoo to them and say "Talk to the wrist" (which usually gets a smile). I'm a big dork, but I do think the kids appreciate my humor and sincerity. Anyway, now I am rambling, so here is the page:

This one has a ton of layers. Those circles were stamped with an empty paper towel roll and I love the way they turned out. The lace trim is just kind of stuck there for some girliness and texture. I also used modeling paste (that I tinted with paint) and some drywall repair tape (as a stencil) to make the little grid design under the "ch". Here are the close-ups:

It's fun to continue to experiment with new techniques. I have a blank spread in my journal that has been gessoed and is ready for some paint calling my name right now. But, before I end this, I wanted to include a little family fun as well. It is summer, and this blog is about our daily happiness, so I don't want to miss documenting our fun.

Ok, so have you heard of Roadside America? It's a quirky little collection of oddities you can find alongside the roads throughout America. You can look up your state and then start adventuring. You can see such awesomeness as the Largest Pig Hairball. This kind of stuff amuses me to no end. An added bonus is the stuff is usually free or at a minimum cost and the road trips create some fun family memories. Yesterday I mapped out three of the things: Glen Goode's Big People, Fischer's Meat Market Glockenspiel, and Lady Bug VW's and other Folk Art. We had some good times driving to see this stuff. The Glockenspiel did not impress me nearly as much as the cool paintings that resembled a town alongside of a building on Main Street, so that is why you see that picture instead.

I love adventures like this with my kids. Kailyn is always up for anything, but Kyle is a lot harder to please. I find if I get them out on the open road, just the three of us that I can cheer him up and make him think even the dorkiest things are almost fun. Again, you are in charge of you!

When we went to Glen Goode's place, we had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Goode himself. He let us tour his workshop and see the mold he used to make the head of the cowboy statue. He is a super nice guy and tells some wonderful stories regarding the history of those statues. He even took a picture with the kids:

I told the kids we are going to do some more of these Roadside America quirky adventures. Kyle thinks I am a nerd and I am, but I will tell you he LOVED those VW bugs. As usual, Mother knows best. :)

 

Photojournalism

Kids are so cool. For the past couple of days I have provided them with a camera and let them photograph our activities for an end-of-summer pure awesomeness book. My daughter and her friend kind of pioneered the idea for me when my daughter was begging to take the camera thrift store shopping in Deep Ellum with me. I LOVE the results. KIDS ARE SO FREAKING AWESOME!!!! Here is a collage from our day on Saturday:

Today we went to a nature preserve and my son took the camera for his own artistic spin:

I wish I could post them all, because they had some killer photography skills. My kids are good with a camera. They have an eye for it (perhaps thanks to the years I spent scrapbooking and shoving a camera in their face 24/7...ha!). Either way, this was a fantastic start to summer. Watch out for us...we are LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST....chiggar bites and all. :)

Pocketful of Sunshine

Summer is in full swing over here. It will be interested to see how we balance all of the fun we have on our wish list with out daily responsibilities. We have started geocaching again. We made a goal to get to 200 finds by the end of the summer. We are at 163 right now, so we have a ways to go. When we got to 100 we had a big celebration where we went to a restaurant and ordered only dessert...this was a huge treat for my kids. I will have some time to think up something for 200.

We are still creating art over here as well. I made a little pocket in my latest page where I will hide a little list of my blessings. That was new for me. Easy, but new. Trying new things is what this journal is all about for me. Here is the latest page:

I used fabric for the stems and patterned paper for the flowers. Here is a close-up and a close-up of my little journaling pocket as well:

I have yet to add the journaling. I didn't want to rush that.

We are having fun over here. Stay tuned to that sidebar on the right for pictures we take during the day. It should refresh instantly as we post new things. Isn't the Internet amazing?

 

Over the Rainbow

We are very busy making art and enjoying summer over here. Here is the latest in the journal.

I'm playing around with writing things by hand. I also wanted to play around with a drip effect and one thing just kind of lead to the other. Here are the close-ups:

I love the 3D effect of that punchanella and modeling paste for clouds. Once you can let go of everything having to be perfect and embrace a little mess, it is all very freeing.

Still trying out new styles and seeing what I like best. So far I love it all. Figures.

Whimsy

This entry was a total experiment in hand lettering. From there it just kind of took shape. I started to paint a tree because the first time I ever tried to paint a real painting it was of a tree and my son loves that painting so much. He recently put it on my easel so it would be on display in my office. He makes me smile. I was trying to think of how I can incorporate a tree and a little mixed media and before I knew it I had string out and was making a little swing. The little stick people sticker is so cute. I would probably never use it on a scrapbook page, but it sure is perfect for a journal.

And the close-ups:

I woke up to Kailyn and her friend in my office working on their art journal and there was glitter everywhere. I'll have to take a picture of the journal they just started. The amount of glitter on my desk is truly frightening.

I saw a concept on-line recently about making art everyday and I am hoping to do this for June. I think it keeps the creative juices flowing. Even if you just add one layer to a page, it's doing something. I love that concept. I am feeling totally inspired by this artist. I wish I had a bunch of old magazines to try this kind of collage. Hmmm...maybe I need to hit the Goodwill today for inspiration. So much for not spending money. I did splurge on a few mists and paints and brushes and markers and pastels yesterday. I can totally justify this purchase.  Really. I can.

Child's Play

This journal entry marks the day I started showing Kailyn how to add texture to her pages. It's a crazy page for me, as I was just showing her it's OK to be messy, it's OK to use your fingers, and it's OK to use your own handwriting. Art is messy and art is fun. If I don't lead by example, she's not going to get it. So, here is messy at it's finest...ha!:

Since this is my bird journal, I added a bird (I have done this on every page so far, as the bird is symbolic to me):

Then I added these funky letters. I will not use thick chipboard next time as it makes the page hard to turn. I have since unstuck them in a few places to make them more flexible. Again, live and learn!

I have two more completed pages that I am excited to share, so stay tuned. I am going through a complete "let me try this new thing" stage. Hoping to head to the craft store with my boy today to look at inks. Wish us luck!